In the 1962 film The Music Man, the surname of con man Harold is Hill.
Robert Preston plays Professor Harold Hill, a traveling con man who arrives in River City, Iowa, in 1912. He claims to be a music expert and persuades parents to buy instruments and uniforms for a boys' marching band, intending to leave town with their money before anyone notices that he cannot actually teach music.
The film adapts Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical, with Preston reprising the role he originated onstage. Harold's scheme centers on the fictional “Think System,” which supposedly lets children learn music simply by thinking about it. His romance with librarian Marian Paroo eventually changes his priorities.
A common mix-up is confusing Harold Hill with the film's other prominent surnames, such as Mayor Shinn, librarian Marian Paroo, and anvil salesman Charlie Cowell. The 1962 movie was directed by Morton DaCosta and became a major Warner Bros. musical.